Indonesia Joins BRICS

SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Indonesia will formally join BRICS as a full member, according to Brazil’s government announcement on Monday. This expands the group of major emerging economies that also includes Russia, India, China, and South Africa.

Indonesia’s foreign ministry welcomed the announcement on Tuesday, stating that “BRICS membership is a strategic way to increase collaboration and partnership with other developing nations.”

As the world’s fourth most populous nation, Indonesia has expressed its desire to join BRICS to strengthen emerging countries and further the interests of the Global South.

Brazil, which will hold the bloc’s presidency in 2025, announced that member states approved Indonesia’s entry by consensus as part of an expansion endorsed initially at the 2023 BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

Brazil noted that Jakarta’s bid was approved in 2023, but Indonesia sought to join after the presidential election last year. President Prabowo Subianto took office in October.

The Brazilian government stated, “Indonesia shares with the other members of the group support for the reform of global governance institutions and contributes positively to the deepening of cooperation in the Global South.”

The BRICS group also includes Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates.